The concept of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) closely resemble each other. Both ICD-10 and DSM-IV use the term PDD. The authors surveyed the perception of PDD/ASD and attitudes toward terminology. The subjects of this study were 205 medical/social-welfare professionals working in fields relating to developmental disorders. Questionnaires were mailed to site investigators at the collaborating institutes. With regard to what the scope of ASD and PDD encompasses, the answers were almost equally divided among three views: ASD and PDD are the same, PDD is wider in scope and ASD is wider. The terms PDD and autism were used in slightly different ways depended upon the situation. Our results demonstrate that the parameters of PDD and ASD are unclear and that the terms related to PDD/ASD are often used differently. Further studies are required to develop more clear and reliable diagnostic criteria for PDD.
Academies and Institutes ; Asperger Syndrome ; Autistic Disorder ; Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; International Classification of Diseases ; Postal Service ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Research Personnel

A nationwide survey of Japanese teachers belonging to departments of medicine was conducted to investigate their opinions about: 1) expanding medical departments into medical schools and, 2) the required subjects and selection criteria for admitting students to the faculty of medicine. We found that responses to both questions depended largely on the specialty of the teachers. With regard to the medical school design, which will cause a dramatic change in medical education in Japan, 60% of the teachers were in favor of expanding departments into medical schools.

2-Hydroxytyrosol (2-HT), originally reported as a synthetic compound, was isolated for the first time as a fungal metabolite. 2-HT was found to inhibit mushroom tyrosinase with an IC50 value of 13.0 µmol/L. Furthermore, 2-HT dose-dependently inhibited tyrosinase activity (IC50, 32.5 µmol/L) in the cell-free extract of B16 melanoma cells and α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-stimulated melanin formation in intact B16 melanoma cells.